The Pittsboro Police Department has welcomed a new member to their force...or so they led their social media followers to believe.

On Saturday (AKA April Fools' Day), officers took to Facebook to announce officer Clovis, a trained and certified narcotics detection feline, had been sworn into the PPD.

Law enforcement officials said that the use of narcotics detection felines is one of the newest and most innovative trends in law enforcement agencies and they expect that to be the new normal for many agencies in the future.

Cats, even though they are harder to train than dogs, can also detect the scent of illegal drugs.

However, authorities said there is some concern that there could be a false positive alert if there was some catnip in the area of the search, but Clovis' handler said the risk is marginal at best.

According to the department, there are many benefits to using a cat instead of using a dog. They said one benefit is that it is cost effective.

A certified police K9 can run a department well over $20,000, not including other training costs, equipment, and food bills.

This special breed of feline cost a fraction of that and they live longer than their K9 counterparts, officers said.

They said another reason Clovis was sworn in is because cats are less aggressive, which causes less damage to vehicles when locating narcotics because their claws are retractable.

They said cats are easier to transport in any patrol vehicle via cat carrier.

Scientific research proves cats have a longer memory than dogs and prefer to work independently, officers said this works to the advantage of the force because it can help track down drugs faster.

They also said cats are more active and can jump and climb, making almost every area accessible to a search.

The department wanted to thank citizens for their support but assured them that the post was simply and April Fools' Day prank...

"The Pittsboro Police Department is pleased to introduce the newest member of the Police Department. Please welcome Officer Clovis to the PPD. Officer Clovis is a trained and certified narcotics detection feline. Cats, even though they are harder to train than dogs, can also detect the scent of illegal drugs. There are many benefits to using a feline instead of a commonly used K9 (dog). One is cost effectiveness. A certified police K9 can run well over $20,000, not including other training costs, equipment, and food bills. This special breed of feline cost a fraction of that and they live longer than their K9 counterparts. Secondly, cats are less aggressive, cause less damage to vehicles when locating narcotics (their claws are retractable) and are easier to transport in any patrol vehicle via cat carrier. Third, based on scientific research cats have a longer memory than dogs and prefer to work independently. Fourth, cats can jump and climb making almost every area to be searched accessible. Another positive is that cats are very adept at being video recorded based on the millions of internet videos out there of cat behavior. There is some concern that there could be a false positive alert if there was some catnip in the area to be searched but the feline's handler says the risk is marginal at best. Law enforcement officials say that the use of narcotics detection felines is one of the newest and most innovative trends in Law Enforcement agencies and he expects that to be the norm in many agencies in the future. Lastly, this is just an April Fool's Joke! We do not have a narcotics detection feline. We want everyone to have a happy and safe April Fool's Day."